Attack Mac OS
Attacks targeting Windows and Mac devices usually differ for one of two reasons: Attacks only work on a specific OS or the profile of the target behind the machine, Kujawa says. 'The Mac and OS X is not a panacea against security methodologies and attacks. You can go on the Internet and see the patches that Apple puts out. Like all operating system platforms they have. STILL NEED HELP? Want to ask other users with the same product a question? Join the conversation.
A kernel panic (sometimes abbreviated as KP[1]) is a safety measure taken by an operating system's kernel upon detecting an internal fatal error in which either it is unable to safely recover or continuing to run the system would have a higher risk of major data loss. The term is largely specific to Unix and Unix-like systems. For Microsoft Windows operating systems the equivalent term is 'Stop error', resulting in a bug check[2] screen that presents the bug check code on a blue background in early versions of Windows (colloquially known as a 'Blue Screen of Death' or BSoD), or on a green background on the Xbox One platform as well as in Windows 10 preview builds.[3]
The kernel routines that handle panics, known as panic()
in AT&T-derived and BSD Unix source code, are generally designed to output an error message to the console, dump an image of kernel memory to disk for post-mortem debugging, and then either wait for the system to be manually rebooted, or initiate an automatic reboot.[4] The information provided is of a highly technical nature and aims to assist a system administrator or software developer in diagnosing the problem. Kernel panics can also be caused by errors originating outside kernel space. For example, many Unix operating systems panic if the init process, which runs in user space, terminates.[5][6]
History[edit]
The Unix kernel maintains internal consistency and runtime correctness with assertions as the fault detection mechanism. The basic assumption is that the hardware and the software should perform correctly and a failure of an assertion results in a panic, i.e. a voluntary halt to all system activity.[7] The kernel panic was introduced in an early version of Unix and demonstrated a major difference between the design philosophies of Unix and its predecessor Multics. Multics developer Tom van Vleck recalls a discussion of this change with Unix developer Dennis Ritchie:
I remarked to Dennis that easily half the code I was writing in Multics was error recovery code. He said, 'We left all that stuff out. If there's an error, we have this routine called panic, and when it is called, the machine crashes, and you holler down the hall, 'Hey, reboot it.'[8]
The original panic()
function was essentially unchanged from Fifth Edition UNIX to the VAX-based UNIX 32V and output only an error message with no other information, then dropped the system into an endless idle loop.
Source code of panic()
function in V6 UNIX:[9]
As the Unix codebase was enhanced, the panic()
function was also enhanced to dump various forms of debugging information to the console.
Causes[edit]
A panic may occur as a result of a hardware failure or a software bug in the operating system. In many cases, the operating system is capable of continued operation after an error has occurred. However, the system is in an unstable state and rather than risking security breaches and data corruption, the operating system stops to prevent further damage and facilitate diagnosis of the error and, in usual cases, restart.[10]
After recompiling a kernel binary image from source code, a kernel panic while booting the resulting kernel is a common problem if the kernel was not correctly configured, compiled or installed.[11] Add-on hardware or malfunctioning RAM could also be sources of fatal kernel errors during start up, due to incompatibility with the OS or a missing device driver.[12] A kernel may also go into panic()
if it is unable to locate a root file system.[13] During the final stages of kernel userspace initialization, a panic is typically triggered if the spawning of init fails. A panic might also be triggered if the init process terminates, as the system would then be unusable.[14]
The following is an implementation of the Linux kernel final initialization in kernel_init()
:[15]
Operating system specifics[edit]
Linux[edit]
Kernel panics appear in Linux like in other Unix-like systems, but they can also generate another kind of error condition, known as a kernel oops.[16] In this case, the kernel normally continues to run after killing the offending process. As an oops could cause some subsystems or resources to become unavailable, they can later lead to a full kernel panic.
On Linux, a kernel panic causes keyboard LEDs to blink as a visual indication of a critical condition.[17]
macOS[edit]
When a kernel panic occurs in Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.7, the computer displays a multilingual message informing the user that they need to reboot the system.[18] Prior to 10.2, a more traditional Unix-style panic message was displayed; in 10.8 and later, the computer automatically reboots and displays a message after the restart. The format of the message varies from version to version:[19]
- 10.0–10.1: The system displays text on the screen, giving details about the error, and becomes unresponsive.
- 10.2: Rolls down a black transparent curtain then displays a message on a white background informing the user that they should restart the computer. The message is shown in English, French, German and Japanese.
- 10.3–10.5: The kernel panic is almost the same as version 10.2 but the background of the error screen is black.
- 10.6–10.7-10.8: The text has been revised and now includes a Spanish translation.
- 10.9 and later: The computer becomes unresponsive before it immediately reboots. When the computer starts back up, it shows a warning message for a few seconds about the computer restarting because of a kernel panic, and then the computer restarts back up. The message now includes a Chinese translation.
Sometimes when there are five or more kernel panics within three minutes of the first one, the Mac will display a prohibitory sign for 30 seconds, and then shut down (this is known as a 'recurring kernel panic').
In all versions above 10.2, the text is superimposed on a standby symbol and is not full screen. Debugging information is saved in NVRAM and written to a log file on reboot. In 10.7 there is a feature to automatically restart after a kernel panic. In some cases, on 10.2 and later, white text detailing the error may appear in addition to the standby symbol.
Mac OS X 10.0–10.1 kernel panic
Mac OS X 10.2 kernel panic
Mac OS X 10.3–10.5 kernel panic
Mac OS X 10.6 and 10.7 kernel panic
Message shown after the computer restarts because of a kernel panic in OS X 10.8 and later versions
See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kernel panic. |
References[edit]
- ^'KP - Kernel Panic (Linux) AcronymFinder'. www.acronymfinder.com. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ^'Bug Checks (Blue Screens)'. Hardware Dev Center - Microsoft.
- ^Hoffman, Chris. 'Did You Know Windows 10 Has a Green Screen of Death?'. How-To Geek. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^'FreeBSD 11.0 - man page for panic (freebsd section 9) - Unix & Linux Commands'. www.unix.com.
- ^'boot failure-init died - Unix Linux Forums - HP-UX'. www.unix.com.
- ^Randolph J. Herber (September 1, 1999). 'Re: PANIC: init died'. Newsgroup: comp.sys.sgi.admin.
- ^Daniel P. Siewiorek; Robert S. Swarz (1998). Reliable computer systems: design and evaluation. A K Peters, Ltd. p. 622. ISBN978-1-56881-092-8. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ^'Unix and Multics'. www.multicians.org.
- ^Source code /usr/sys/ken/prf.c from V6 UNIX
- ^Steven M. Hancock (November 22, 2002). Tru64 UNIX troubleshooting: diagnosing and correcting system problemsHP Technologies SeriesITPro collection. Digital Press. pp. 119–126. ISBN978-1-55558-274-6. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^Michael Jang (2006). Linux annoyances for geeks. O'Reilly Media, Inc. pp. 267–274. ISBN978-0-596-00801-7. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^David Pogue (December 17, 2009). Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Snow Leopard Edition. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 589. ISBN978-0-596-80425-1. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ^Greg Kroah-Hartman (2007). Linux kernel in a nutshell. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 59. ISBN978-0-596-10079-7. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^Wolfgang Mauerer (September 26, 2008). Professional Linux Kernel Architecture. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 1238–1239. ISBN978-0-470-34343-2. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^linux/init/main.c, LXR Cross Referencer
- ^'Linux Device Drivers, Chapter 4'(PDF).
- ^James Kirkland; David Carmichael; Christopher L. Tinker; Gregory L. Tinker (May 2006). Linux Troubleshooting for System Administrators and Power Users. Prentice Hall. p. 62. ISBN9780132797399. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
- ^'OS X: About kernel panics - Apple Support'. support.apple.com.
- ^'A New Screen of Death for Mac OS X'. OSXBook.com.
There has been a long-standing rumor that Macs are immune to viruses and now, someone has proven Macs can be infected. The word is out in CNET’s article: “Apple users beware: First live ransomware targeting Macs found 'in the wild”. What does this mean for Apple users? Has something changed within the Mac OS X and do they need to do anything different?
Rumors
To answer these questions, let’s start by exploring the rumor of Mac is immune. This rumor has been around for a long time. I believe it was five years ago when my father told me that a sales person at a big box retailer told him this “fact.” At that time I knew it wasn’t exactly true and I did a little digging as into why and now I am re-exploring the same issue. Five years ago, How-To Geek published an article: Online Safety: Who Says Macs Don’t Get Viruses? In this article they site three possible reasons why the Mac OS X is less-prone to viruses:
- Market share – In 2011, Windows users greatly outnumbered Mac users as illustrated in this very interesting chart from How-to Geek www.howtogeek.com/76628/online-safety-who-says-macs-dont-get-viruses/
- Time and effort – Being there were more PCs on the market in 2011, more was known about them and less research was needed by an attacker. “Security by minority” according to How-To Geek.
- Short list of viruses – in this article, they state in 2008, there were less than 200 pieces of malware targeting Apple. I will note that their source for this information is no longer available, so take this number with a grain of salt.
Ransomware Attack
As we have seen from recent news, number three above may not hold true for long. The list of viruses targeting Macs is starting to grow. One such virus is a type called ransomware. If you are unfamiliar with what ransomware does, it infects your computer and locks all of your files. It will then send you to a screen stating that if you want to access your computer again, you will need to pay a certain amount of money to do so. They also typically give you a quick deadline (before they erase your files) to respond by in order to increase the pressure to pay. It is hard to trace as they will use currency like bitcoins to collect the ransom. If infected, there is not much you can do. There are sites now combating the ransomware virus which publish a list of codes which have been given to unlock files that are held hostage. If one of the published ones works, you are in luck, if not, you might have to pay or forgo your files.
Why Mac OS X and Why Now?
It was always a question of “when” and not “if” when it came to Macs becoming a target by viruses. Tech professionals have been saying for years that they knew it was possible, but it was a matter of when someone of a questionable nature was going to invest their time and resources to execute it. Basically, someone took on the challenge of creating a ransomware that will work on the Mac OS X and succeeded. Nothing has changed within the OS and it is nothing that Apple did. So what does this mean going forward?
Safety tips
If you own a Mac and are concerned, there are some tips (adapted from Dan Kusnetzky at Virtualization Review) to help keep your data safe.
Awareness
Understand that you are vulnerable. You are already part of the way to making your Mac safe by reading this article. You have now read that there is a possibility that your Mac could become infected with a virus and you need to act upon this awareness.
Anti-virus software
Attack Macro Swg Legends
Own it and keep it updated. It’s not 100% protection, but it will keep a lot of the pesky viruses at bay.
Attack Mac Os Sierra
Proceed with caution
Attack Macros
Watch the sites you visit and files you open. Sites that offer freeware or free games have a potential to have something nasty hanging onto that program. Only visit sites you know to be safe and do not download anything that you don’t know is 100% safe. I know this is sometimes difficult as you are surfing to gain knowledge on something and are following a never-ending list of links or are on social media and something peaks your interest. Social media is kind of nice as you can check comments to make sure others have had success accessing the site without issue. As for files you have emailed to you, make sure it is legit. If there are any extensions or strange characters in the name of the file, do not open.
Is Apple any less-safe than they were before? Not really. They have always been at risk, it’s just that someone has recently targeted them. Apple is still low as far as the number of viruses out there written for Mac OS X. The big issue is that if you think you are invincible, someone will challenge you on it.
Sources: